The rise and fall of Zhoucun Commercial Port

The history of Zhoucun

Zhoucun is known as "the best village in the world".

1. As early as the Neolithic Age, humans have been fishing, hunting, cultivating and thriving on this land.

During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there were already tribes and villages.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was a territory of Qi State. In the Western Han Dynasty, the northern part belonged to Ling (sound wu ling) County and the southern part belonged to Banyang County (now Zichuan).

2. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it belonged to Wuqiang County, Guangchuan County.

3. In the fifth year of the Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty, Beiqiu County was established in the south and belonged to Qinghe County.

In the 16th year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign in the Sui Dynasty (596), it belonged to Zichuan. In the 18th year, Wuqiang County was changed to Changshan County, and Beiqiu County was changed to Zichuan County.

The southern part of the current district originally belonged to Zichuan County, and the northern part belonged to Changshan County.

In August 1945, Zhoucun was liberated for the first time and was organized as Zhoucun City, under the Bohai Administrative Office, and later placed under the Zibo Special Economic Zone of the Central and South Shandong Administrative Region.

In March 1950, Zhoucun and Changshan merged to form Changshan County; in November, it was separated from Changshan County and jointly built Zhangzhou City with Zhangdian.

From April 1955 to the present, Zhoucun District is under the jurisdiction of Zibo City.

As early as 4,000 years ago during the Longshan Culture period, humans lived in Zhoucun, and there are still remains of the ancient city of Yuling where early humans lived. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhoucun's status as an important industrial and commercial town has become increasingly prominent. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, it had become one of the industrial and commercial centers of Qilu. Its prosperous scene has been recorded in many history books. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Zhoucun, with its special industrial and commercial status, was established as a self-opened commercial port by the Qing government along with the provincial capitals Jinan and Weixian. The history of Zhoucun reached its peak of glory. Over the past 100 years, Zhoucun has gone through many vicissitudes. This year, Zhoucun celebrates the 100th anniversary of its opening as a port. At this special moment, everyone who cares about the development of Zhoucun can't help but turn their attention to the distant history, to trace the trajectory of Zhoucun's once shining bright light, to feel the powerful historical pulse that once beat, and to understand History provides contemporary inspiration.

Zhoucun’s War Memories

Zhoucun was liberated four times in its history. The first was in August 1945, the second was in June 1946, and the second was in June 1946. The three times were in February 1947, and the last liberation was on March 12, 1948, which laid a good foundation for the final liberation of Wei County and Jinan.

The complete liberation of Zhoucun has an important position and significance in the history of Shandong's Liberation War. To commemorate this great victory, old photos about the liberation of Zhoucun are specially released. Reviewing these old photos that record the true history, it seems that we have entered the years of the Liberation War, as if we heard the rumbling of cannons, saw the heroic fighting figures of the martyrs, and saw the figures of the people rushing to the front. Learning from the past and present, and taking an overview of the mountains and rivers, we can experience the difficulty of starting a business and sustaining success. It is of great practical significance to Xinzhoucun, which has been opened for a hundred years and continues to open up the future.

The main folk customs of Zhoucun:

1. Zhoucun Xinzi

The origin of Zhoucun Xinzi can probably be traced back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is said that Tai'an Grandma Bixia Yuanjun is from Changshan, Zhou Village. March 15th is her birthday. Every year on March 3rd, the villagers start to welcome Grandma Tai'an back to her parents' home. They recommend a few mature and dignified people to carry Grandma Tai'an on their backs. The painting scroll, the horse galloping, went straight to Mount Tai, kowtowed three times and six times to pray to the gods, and returned to the border of Zichuan. There was a person who rushed back to Zhoucun to report the news and was ready to pick him up. From this day on, it will last until Grandma's birthday on March 15th. , Zhoucun began the annual wonderful Shehuo sacrificial performance. Dragon lanterns, lions, bamboo horses, land boats, etc. are all available. The common people came up with ideas to enliven the festive atmosphere. The smart Zhoucun people were inspired by stilts and candle lampstands, and relied on Zhoucun's advanced loom technology to create unique Zhoucun cores. Later, Zhoucun people moved Xinzi, a unique folk performance form, to the Lantern Festival for display, and it became a major feature of the Zhoucun Lantern Festival.

After consulting "Boshan Chronicles" and other information, the reporter got another version of the origin of Zhoucun Xinzi: Xinzi originated in Zhoucun District, Zibo City, and later spread to Boshan, and then It also affected Zichuan, Zhangdian, Linzi and other places. However, the wide variety, exquisite production and colorful performances enable Zhoucun to maintain an important position. Due to historical reasons, the masses are accustomed to calling Zhoucun Xinzi. According to old artists, as early as 1662 (the first year of Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty), there was an old artist in Zhoucun who thought hard all day long in order to make the performance convenient for the masses to watch and safe. One night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep, so he lit a candle and smoked a pipe to ponder. Suddenly, the candle lantern burned high, and the candlelight shone up and down, just like a fairy standing on the wick and dancing. The enlightenment of the lamp wick made him suddenly enlightened. He imitated the shaking phantom on the top of the lamp wick and firmly inserted the iron rod on the base similar to a lampstand. A girl or boy stood at the top of the iron rod and asked them to play various roles. From a distance, it looks like it is dancing on the wick of a candle. Its height and ornamental effect are far greater than those of stilts, and it is very popular among people. And because the performers rely on the iron rods passing through their clothes as a core to support their movements, people call it the core for short.

2. Hanging lanterns

Zhoucun lanterns have been popular among the people since ancient times. Zhoucun lanterns are one of the four major lantern systems in China. According to "The No. 1 Village in the World—The Lantern Festival Scenery of Zhoucun" written by Zheng Tao'an, a Chinese language teacher at Taiwan Experimental Middle School in 1930: "The No. 1 village in the world is Zhoucun in Changshan County, Shandong Province. When Emperor Qianlong of the former Qing Dynasty came to watch the lanterns, he This village was given the name ".

During the Qianlong period, Zhoucun was a prosperous era for hanging lanterns. Later, we played Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day and hung lanterns every year. Zhoucun hangs lanterns (also known as the Lantern Festival), usually once every three years. At the same time, there are three habits of not hanging them: not hanging them when the weather is bad, not hanging them when the weather is not peaceful, and not hanging them when the weather is not good.

Hanging lanterns in Zhoucun is not only for celebration and entertainment, but also for commercial exhibitions. Its industrial products are mainly silk fabrics, with filigree kudzu being the most famous. High-quality products are put on display, widely solicited, and good prices are obtained, so that people come to watch the lanterns, not only at night, but also during the day.

Zhoucun Lantern Festival hangs lights for three days from the twelfth to the fourteenth of the first lunar month. The lights are officially turned on on the fifteenth day for fun. The lights are left on for another three days from the sixteenth to the eighteenth day. For seven days, it is called the Zhoucun Lantern Festival. Whenever the lanterns are hung, the passenger cars on the Jiaoji Railway are crowded for several days. From Jinan in the west to Qingdao in the east, and from various places along the road, there is an endless stream of people coming to watch the lanterns. Hanging lanterns in the ancient streets formed four main streets in the Yuan Dynasty, which were roughly like crosses at different intersections. The east, south, west and north were respectively: Silk Market Street, Main Street, Silk Market Street and Yinzi Market. Just by listening to the name, you can tell the characteristics and prosperity of that year. Nowadays, Silk Market Street has degenerated into alleys, but the rest are still leading the way, and the architecture was passed down from the Ming Dynasty. The main street is the main part, and it was once known as "Little Paris".

The legend of today’s tax-free monument

Historical data records: Li Huaxi, also known as Wuxian, also known as Baiyun Taoist. Born in a family of officials, in the late Ming Dynasty he served successively as the manager of Huzhou, the official of Hejian Prefecture, the military commander of Tianjin, and the governor of Sichuan. When the Qing army entered the customs, he took over as the governor of Shaanxi. At that time, Li Zicheng's army was approaching the walls of Beijing, and Emperor Chongzhen urgently sent a message to the emperor. He served as governor of the three sides of Yulin and led an army of 100,000 to rescue him. As the army advanced, Li Zicheng had already captured Beijing, and Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on Meishan. In desperation, Li Huaxi's troops retreated to his hometown of Zhoucun City and worked hard to govern, waiting for the current situation to change. As a result, Zhoucun City was protected from the disasters of war for a hundred miles, and wealthy people, businessmen, and ordinary people from all over the world moved here one after another.

Later, Li Huaxi followed the current situation and initially served as the left minister of the Ministry of Industry of the Qing Dynasty, the minister of the Ministry of War, and the right official of the Kadu Procuratorate. Due to his outstanding political achievements, he was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Doctor Guanglu, and Crown Prince Taibao. During the Shunzhi period, I resigned from office and returned to my hometown to serve my mother because of her old age. Before leaving, I said goodbye to the emperor. When Emperor Shunzhi asked him what he wanted, Li Huaxi said that the taxes in his hometown were heavy and asked the emperor to give him a discount. Emperor Shunzhi thought for a moment and said: "National taxes are unavoidable, and in memory of your love for your merits, I will give you a handwritten edict to exempt your hometown from taxes for one day to show your favor."

”

Li Huaxi then returned to his hometown after receiving the edict. He thought about the use of a one-day tax exemption, so he buried the edict under the ancestral hall. Unexpectedly, that night, the place where the edict was buried shone brightly with red light, which could be seen from ten miles away. There seemed to be a giant dragon floating in the light. The next day, Li Huaxi had to take out the edict and keep it at home, but the night scene made Li Huaxi puzzled.

One day, when he heard a noise at the door, Li Huaxi called the housekeeper and asked: "Why. How unbecoming is it that there is such a noise at the door! The housekeeper hurriedly said: "It's an old Taoist nun who comes to beg for alms every day. She always says that she is only here to beg for today and not tomorrow. But for some reason she comes to beg for alms the next day." Because she was old and had been giving alms for a few days, today she asked the concierge to ask her to go elsewhere to beg for alms. She refused to listen but wanted to see the adults, and was stopped by the concierge, so she made a noise, not wanting to alarm the adults. "Li Huaxi was worrying about the imperial edict when he suddenly heard the word "today". His heart moved and he hurriedly asked the housekeeper to invite the old Taoist nun. After a while, the housekeeper came back and said, "The old Taoist nun heard that you wanted to see her, but she didn't come in. He left a rag package and said it was for you, but he turned around and disappeared. "

Li Huaxi realized something was wrong and asked someone to open the package. Inside the package was a piece of flawless jasper, covered with cloud patterns and engraved with the word "Yuan Jun" on the front. Li Huaxi thought about it and suddenly realized, " Don't "Bi", "Xia" and "Yuanjun" combined together mean "Bixia Yuanjun"? This is Bixia Yuanjun to enlighten him.

So he quickly asked the local magistrate to engrave the emperor's decree on the stone tablet It was erected at the north end of the street. In this way, no matter what day people went to see it, it would be "no tax today." Zhoucun City changed from an "official gathering" that paid taxes to a "free gathering" that did not pay taxes. At the same time, Li Huaxi organized a "inspection." The soldiers who bravely guarded the streets attacked the local gangsters and local tyrants who disrupted the market. Merchants from all over the country came to Zhoucun City, and Zhoucun City was once "a gathering of goods from all over the world"

Li Huaxi, the Minister of Justice of the Qing Dynasty, was very important in the history of Zhoucun's development. In a special sense, he probably started to "skid around" in business taxation. When he saw that Zhoucun's taxes were heavy and suppressed business, he reported to the emperor at the time, and the emperor ordered "no tax today." Li Huaxi was so "daring" that he carved the emperor's edict into a stone tablet with the words "No tax today" and placed it on the commercial street of Zhoucun. No one dared to touch the emperor's imperial decree. As a result, the "main street" became "No tax today" every day. .

My daughter’s feelings about the dry wharf

Zhou Village is a key protected area of ??ancient heritage sites. As the saying goes, “the combination of Chinese and Western styles will produce better results.” Yes, the beautiful scenery of the village is unbelievable. Although there are no modern grand buildings, the fruits of the hard work of the ancient working people can be seen from the bones.

Come to Zhoucun Street and walk into Sanyitang. It is said that Sanyitang is one of the earliest printing and bookshops in Zhoucun. It was a joint venture between the Fu family from Guangrao County and several relatives and friends in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Founded. At present, the earliest existing version of "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" was printed and published in Sanyitang. After passing Sanyi Hall, we walked south and came to the Folk Customs Exhibition Hall. The Folk Customs Exhibition Hall selected scenes related to people’s lives such as weddings, birthdays, textiles, production, and entertainment, and displayed a large number of physical objects, character models, and exhibition panels. to show local folk customs. After experiencing the folk customs, we came to the Zhuangyuan Mansion on Silk Street. To be honest, this Zhuangyuan Mansion is really big. It covers an area of ??more than 3,330 square meters. It was built in the 48th year of Kangxi reign (AD 1790), the whole building is a typical northern Siheyuan architectural style, with three courtyards, clear bricks and gray tiles, carved beams and painted holes. It is magnificent and has a garden and martial arts field. From then on, I established I determined that when I grow up, I must go to college, become the top scholar, and build my own "top scholar mansion". Although it is a bit naive, it gave me the motivation to study after all. Sishi Street is next to Yinzi Street. This street is famous. The Yang Family Courtyard and Dayan Fang are both here. Although there are many good things, we have to see them one by one. Come, let’s see the Yang Family first. The courtyard is a place of worship. The famous generals of the Yang family lived here. It has now become a new attraction that shows the original life of modern Shandong merchants. I believe everyone knows that the TV series "The Big Dyeing House" was filmed here. Watching the pieces of colorful cloth come out of the vat, I feel an indescribable sense of pride in my heart. This is a great achievement of our working people. ah.

Heading south from Dayanfang, you will come to Kuixing Pavilion. It is composed of three halls with different religious cultures: Bixia Yuanjun Hall, Kuixing Pavilion, and Guanyin Hall. Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism coexist in one place. People often ask gods to help their children go to college, but no one knows whether this works.

The creation of ticket numbers

It is said that in the past, several poor businessmen worked together to sell firewood, but the money they earned was not enough to go home for the New Year. On the night of New Year's Eve, they only cooked a pot of gruel. Before they had time to drink it, they heard someone knocking on the door. When they opened it, they saw an old man driving a camel. The old man asked to stay overnight. The three businessmen were not in a position to receive passers-by, but in the face of heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures, they thought of the old man's dilemma of having nowhere to go, so they made room for the old man to spend the night. When the hungry and cold old man saw the gruel on the inkstone, he asked for a bowl. After drinking it, it was not enough to fill his stomach, so he asked for more until he finished the pot, and then fell asleep.

Three businessmen spent the New Year's Eve hungry. Early the next morning, the old man disappeared, and so did the camel, but the bag the camel was carrying remained. When he opened it, he found that it was full of silver camels. The three businessmen were dumbfounded and went after the old man, but where could they find him in the vast snow? what to do? The three of them discussed it over and over again, and finally decided to use the money to set up a bank account and set up shares for the old man in the name of the "bank owner". Later, the ticket numbers were issued, and all three businessmen became rich, but the old camel driver was never found. Therefore, each ticket number is dedicated to the 'Silver Lord', who later gradually evolved into the current God of Wealth.

The earliest bank accounts set up in Zhoucun were: Shanxi bank accounts Dadetong and Dadeheng. "Only I am content" warns people in the world that money should not be the goal in life. A gentleman should acquire wealth in a wise way. , should be content and always happy, which is one of the great pleasures in life.

Zhoucun’s Shaobing

Zhoucun’s Shaobing is made of wheat flour, white sugar, and sesame seeds using traditional techniques. It is a purely handmade product with “crispy, fragrant” texture. It has four major characteristics: "thin, crispy" and is nutritious and suitable for all ages. It is round and yellow in appearance, covered with sesame seeds on the front, and lined with crisp holes on the back. It is as thin as a poplar leaf and extremely crispy. It will break into pieces as soon as you chew it, and the aroma will fill your mouth and stomach. If you accidentally drop it, it will all break into pieces. If it comes in a package, you open it and eat it all at once, but it won’t taste good if it’s left overnight.

Why is Zhoucun called "Dry Wharf"?

According to the advice of Dong Wei, director of Zoucheng Landscape Culture Center: "Dry dock" is a place for commodity exchange without water. When Zhoucun was in Qi State, it was a gathering place for commodity exchange. Due to the local environment, there were no waterways. , which caused great troubles to the merchants at that time in the transportation of goods. The number of merchants going to Zhoucun to trade increased day by day. A large amount of goods required a means of transportation that came into being: four wooden wheels and two handlebars, respectively. Put the goods at both ends of the car, about 5 meters long, in the middle. Now that you have a wooden car, how can you drive it like this? There is a person driving the shaft in front to pull, and there is a person driving the shaft in the back to push. If the cargo is loaded high, the people behind can't see the people in front, and the driving direction becomes more difficult. You need to shout: Waist! Or shit! How to use the wind to help the four-wheeled wooden cart go there? Someone added a sail used on a boat in the middle of the car, so that the wooden car could use the wind to run freely on land. In addition, Zhoucun was prosperous at that time and the commodity trade was booming. The "dry dock" was thus It’s not surprising that it got its name.

How does the Zhoucun tourism management department protect the "Dry Wharf" brand? To fully explore the cultural connotation of "dry dock", there is no need to cling to the golden rice bowl of "dry dock" and cry out for hunger! How do you understand "dry dock"? This is something that bothers many people.

It is necessary to design an image symbol here that can represent the connotation of "dry dock", that is, a wooden four-wheeled vehicle with a sail: four wheels, handlebars at both ends, and a sail in the middle. Let the Chinese and even foreigners see it. ah! It turns out this is the dry dock! There are too many modern things in the current "dry dock", which directly affects the ancient taste of Qi culture. If the business people here uniformly wear Qi's ancient costumes to attract customers, it would be a good business method. The unique supplies are invited to be made by tourists themselves. , come and experience the joy of handmade manufacturing for yourself! Rickshaws should not be parked in museums. They should be placed in front of the street. They can be rented to tourists for enjoyment! ”

Can’t bear to leave Zhoucun’s “Dry Wharf”

Zhoucun’s “Dry Wharf” fascinated both of us for three days. Zhoucun has a long history and profound culture. It is a famous silk town in history, a century-old commercial port, and a famous textile city. "Dry Wharf" is the world's praise for Zhoucun. "Dry Wharf" is Zhoucun's famous brand. I feel that "Dry Wharf" should be a place where people can visit and relax. A good place, especially in the north, is really a rare ancient town. If at night, the "Dry Pier" is so dazzling and antique, allowing you to indulge in the ancient time and space tunnel, why not kiss the "Dry Pier"! I am with you. My daughter is already nostalgic for the "dry pier" in Zhoucun, and she hopes to have the opportunity to visit the "dry pier" in Zhoucun, Zibo again!